Zangief
Zangief, also known as the '"Red Cyclone" '''is a playable character from ''Street Fighter series. He is part of the Street Fighter series of fighting games, first starring in Street Fighter II. He is a national Russian hero who is always seen fighting for the glory of his country. Biography The Legacy of Zangief *''Street Fighter II (1991)'' **''Street Fighter II: Champion Edition (1992)'' **''Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting (1992)'' *''Street Fighter Alpha 2 (1996-1998)'' *''Street Fighter EX (1996-1997)'' *''Street Fighter EX2 (1998-2000)'' *''Street Fighter Alpha 3 (1998)'' *''Street Fighter EX3 (2001)'' *''Street Fighter IV (2008-2009)'' **''Super Street Fighter IV (2010-2011)'' **''Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)'' Appearance Zangief is a massive fighter, weighing 254 lbs. and standing slightly over 7 feet tall, placing him among the tallest characters in the entire Street Fighter roster. Since his debut in Street Fighter II: The World Warrior in 1991, Zangief has been portrayed with a beard and a mohawk, along with a uniquely-shaped formation of chest hair on his torso and on his shins. His massive frame is almost entirely covered in scars from his bouts with brown bears in the barren and remote area of Siberia. As a note of interest, Zangief has some of the least amount of clothing of any Street Fighter character, with his wardrobe consisting of simple red wrestling trunks with a gold belt, along with red and gold wristbands and his red wrestling boots. Zangief actually wore a vest in all his Street Fighter II portraits, except in Turbo Revival and Turbo HD Remix. Starting with Street Fighter Alpha 2, Zangief was adorned with a red cloak that he would remove before starting his matches. The cloak became an accepted fixture of his image, and he was shown with it in the 1994 Street Fighter II animated movie. Although modern 3D interpretations of Zangief have not shown him with his cloak, he is still depicted as wearing it before matches in his ending movie on Super Street Fighter IV. Personality Born and raised in the Soviet Union, Zangief is an incredibly patriotic character who has been motivated in some way to fight for his Motherland in every single game he has ever been in. Street Fighter II: The World Warrior depicted that Zangief was from the U.S.S.R. when the game was released in 1991. The Soviet Union ceased to exist by the end of 1991, but due to the heavy use of Soviet iconography in and around Zangief's character, including his homestage (where an iron plant complete with a giant hammer and sickle logo imprinted on the floor), Zangief was depicted as being from the U.S.S.R. as late as 1998, when Street Fighter Alpha 3 was released (though justifiably, the Alpha series takes place between the first and second games, meaning the U.S.S.R. still existed as of then). Street Fighter IV was the first time Zangief was depicted as being from the Russian Federation in 2008. Zangief's personality has varied from one media source to another, but he's mostly been portrayed as a very fearless and tactiful fighter who's prone to quick temperments, and is always very competitive. Zangief is a man who is immensely proud of his physique, and constantly belittles his opponent's smaller muscular build and blaming their losses on their smaller physique. Despite his short temper, Zangief has shown himself to be rather gentle-natured with a good sense of humor at times, once entering a tournament partly to win the admiration of a group of school children. According to the instruction manual of Street Fighter II: Special Championship Edition for the Sega Genesis/Mega-Drive, Zangief is described as being "good natured, with a great sense of humor, and totally fearless." Zangief can be easily misled by his overwhelming sense of patriotism for his home country. In Street Fighter Alpha 2, it was revealed that Gorbachev's intentions for Zangief is only for political gain, although Zangief fails to realize this and continues to fight for the glory and honor of Russia, no matter what the reason may be. While not fighting, Zangief enjoys cossack dancing, vodka, and borscht. Some of the things which he doesn't like includes young women (because he views them as a distraction), bears that don't know how to wrestle properly, and (according to the manual for Super Street Fighter II Turbo for the 3DO) Tiger Shots, Hadoukens, and Yoga Fires. Theme Song Sprites Trivia Gallery Illustrations Renders 22_zangiefart.jpg|Super Street Fighter IV Navigation Category:Characters Category:Street Fighter Category:Playable Characters Category:Good Characters Category:Characters from Russia Category:Human Characters Category:Wrestling Characters Category:Male Characters Category:M.U.G.E.N Category:Cameo Characters Category:Marvel vs. Capcom Category:SNK vs. Capcom Category:Characters Born in June Category:Characters Who Debuted in 1991 Category:Heavyweight Characters